A Making project at school as a nexus of practice

Abstract

Despite an abundance of research on collaboration between participants with different disciplinary backgrounds, there is less research available on researchers’ reflections on their working process. This study sheds light on the interdisciplinary work of a research group in the context of a Making project involving design and digital fabrication at school. Nexus analysis is used as a research strategy. The research material includes researchers’ reflective writing, a video recording of their group discussion and their participatory observations throughout their longstanding collaboration surrounding the short-term Making project. The findings highlight the diversity and roles of the key social actors, and how their historical bodies and discourses in place related to doing research in academia are relevant for the actual Making project at school. The study provides implications for methodological development, interdisciplinary work and for carrying out projects with participants beyond university.